Road to Alaska: Mitchell to Sturgis via Mt Rushmore

Today was supposed to be a good day but it turned out kinda sucky :(  I didn't sleep too well last night, probably because of the stupid Mountain Dew.  I ended up getting up just after 5 and decided to hit the road early.  Not sure how good of idea that was.  I was on the road by 0630 in the pitch dark with gravel like material flying all over the place.  I was going roughly 75 mph, until I realized there was a salt (?) truck ahead.  I thought it was just laying down salt for upcoming snow.  Well, once I passed it I realized it was because the roads were icy as hell.  I was going slow by that point but I could feel my car swerving a bit.  I slowed even further, passing couple of cars going probably about 20.  Once I got to a point where there was more salt, I sped up to 30-40ish.  I kept this pace for over 40 miles, maybe even longer, because I had no idea when the salt might suddenly end.  So I drove slow, being very alert... or trying to be.  I was actually pretty tired.  I had 1/2 bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of energy drink but that didn't help.  There were hardly any places to stop along the way either.  Rest areas were spread far and apart, with very little in between. 

At some point the roads no longer seemed icy but it began raining.  That sucked too.  Nothing like wanting to go 75 mph but not because you worry you could go slipping off the road.  Eventually it cleared up, showing the rolling hills of Badlands, which was a nice change of scenery from the flat plains I've been staring at the last couple of days.  I hoped that the sunny skies will hold until I got to Mount Rushmore.

Once at Mount Rushmore I saw that the clouds had come back.  Snow had started falling by the time I finished giving Millie a potty break.  I ran up for a quick view and a snap (see above).  The trails were closed due to icy conditions, and I skipped the museum because I worried about leaving Millie in the car too long.  I'd been looking forward to seeing Mount Rushmore and this turned out to be such an anti-climactic visit.  Perhaps if the skies were blue, the trails were open, and I wasn't rushed, it would have been a nicer visit.

From Mount Rushmore I only had another hour's drive to my hotel in Sturgis.  Sturgis seems to be most well known for its motorcycle rallies.  For me, it was just a place to rest.  What I did want to do here though was take Millie for a nice long walk.  Bear Butte State Park was near by and I had planned to do the 2.5 mile Lake Loop.  Unfortunately, winds were now gusting 40+ mph and it was miserable outside.  I did let Millie out off leash for a bit so she can run around, but not long enough.  She's not been getting enough exercise lately, so today she has been acting up really bad, which hasn't made the day any better. 

Bear Butte State Park